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Friday Update: 12/19/08

It’s been a pretty tough week here. Wednesday I attended the funeral of baby Graham…which is something I had hoped and prayed we wouldn’t have to do. While the odds were stacked against him from the beginning of his short life, we all prayed diligently for healing and health…but it just wasn’t to be. I can’t imagine the pain of losing a child…especially after waiting so long for the blessing of one. I just can’t make heads or tails of it…none of us can. All we can do is lean on our faith and pray for comfort and peace. I pray that Scott and Julie will be washed in the peace and comfort of the Holy Spirit and know that their baby is safe and healthy in heaven. It’s hard to know what to say to try and comfort her…it’s hard to feel comfort myself and I am just a friendly bystander. The sadness I feel for Julie is profound. It caught me off guard…I just couldn’t fight the wave of grief that bubbled up and poured out when I got the news that he was gone. And sitting at the funeral, seeing my dear friend crumpled against her husband’s shoulder weeping…I couldn’t stop the tears from streaming. I think we will all grieve for a long time about the life which could have been. I know they will be strong and their faith will carry them through, and in time they will be ok. It’s just such a terrible thing to have to endure. I know how precious life is…how fleeting it can be…how everything can change in a moment’s time. And yet it is so easy to go through the daily motions and forget. I don’t want to live my life in fear of the unknown…but I want to live my life with as much gratitude and awareness as possible. I don’t want to drift from day to day and not realize that I’m surrounded by blessings. I want to live with my eyes open…with my heart overflowing…and so I will try to put this grief behind me as well and be thankful that I have a friend I love this much, who I’ve remained close with for nearly 20 years. I will hope that soon she will see through her tears to the many blessings in her life as well…that her story has touched many lives, and filled many hearts…that Graham’s short life was not for nothing…he touched thousands, and their family’s faith will have a resounding impact on many other families. I know God is good and He will make something beautiful out of this experience…He always does.

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Anonymous said…
Emily ... I was wondering if you could e-mail me Julie's address so that we could send them a card. Thanks ... John Livingston
9:03 PM
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